


The Lone Rebel

by crazyabiawesome



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Matt will be in this universe more often, Multi, OCs - Freeform, Other, Pining Keith (Voltron), Rebel Lance, Rebel Lance Au, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Some swearing in Altean, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), hunk and lance are the best bros, klance, slight allurance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 08:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15748125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyabiawesome/pseuds/crazyabiawesome
Summary: This is a Voltron Au.Basically,Lance was captured by the Galra from when he was 10 years old. Somehow he managed to escape and spent the next 7 years in space fighting the Galra.Hunk, Pidge and Keith met in the Garisson. In this Au, Keith wasn't booted but didn't stop looking for Shiro with the help of Pidge and her technology. (He was the first to figure out Pidge's secret).Hunk didn't know what the quiznack was going on until an alien ship crashed which brought more questions.They all ended up saving Shiro, finding the Yellow lion which was underground, going through a wormhole and finding a castle filled with 10 thousand-year-old Alteans.They all managed to find the other lions including the Blue lion and unlocked the Black Lion.The team defeated Sendak and his army and the Robeast with the help of the Castle of Lions without forming VoltronIn order to defeat Zarkon, they still needed to find a paladin for the Blue Lion in order to form Voltron.On the bright side, they eventually did.





	1. The Mysterious Hero

He checked the Galran army readers again going through his thoughts...

**Why would Zarkon send Sendak and his entire armada to this planet Arus?**

**Arus, a planet that I never heard of and that's far away from the Galran Empire.**

**Looks like there must be something valuable to Zarkon on that planet. I'd better check it out and prevent it from falling into his hands.**

Meanwhile, in the Castle of Lions, there was a feast. Arusians were everywhere and among them were what seemed like giants were the paladins.

"Not feeling well? Try some nunvill. Settles the stomach and brightens your smile." Coran asked Shiro.

Shiro glanced and saw Hunk faint after drinking the Nunvill.

"Pass. I'm not sure we should let everyone wandering in and out of the castle like this." Shiro said with concern.

"Oh! These Arusians won't hurt anything...much." Coran said as he noticed two Arusians dangling on a hovering tray crashing into the wall.

"Besides it's only fair to let them see the inside of the castle that has been sitting on their planet for so long." Coran continued.

"But who knows when Zarkon will attack again. I'm going on a perimeter check just in case." Shiro said.

Then he left the ballroom. Little did the team know that they were being watched by Sendak and his crew in the distance.

_**Time Skip** _

"You can't leave!" Keith said.

The whole team including Coran were in the corridor listening to Pidge's plan on leaving Voltron and finding her family.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Pidge yelled.

"We still can't form Voltron without the Blue Paladin. The last thing we need is another paladin dropping out. You're not the only one without a family. These Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families." Keith said.

"Hey, I have a family. They live on Earth and I wanna be with them. Is that a thing that could happen?" Hunk asked.

"You wanna leave too?" Allura asked.

"Of course I do. Voltron is super cool don't get me wrong but I never signed up to spend a lifetime in space fighting aliens." Hunk said.

This frustrated Keith even more and he snapped.

"You're putting the lives of two people over the lives of the entire galaxy!"

"Keith, that's not how a team works. People have to want to be part of it, they can't be forced." Shiro said.

"If you want to leave, no one's stopping you but please think about what you're doing."

"I'm sorry. I made up my mind." Pidge said filled with guilt.

Then she walked away.

"This team is already falling apart. How are we ever to form Voltron now?" Allura asked.

Internally, she was panicking without Voltron, there was no hope to save the universe. No hope to defeat Zarkon. She wished they found the Blue paladin sooner to make things easier.

Suddenly a huge explosion was heard and shook the castle.

Screams and panic echoed through the castle and Arusians were constantly bumping into each other as they ran for their lives out of the castle.

The team went to check out the explosion which was in the Central room, finding the crystal shattered into pieces.

"Without the crystal, the castle has no power, therefore, we can't access the lions. They're sealed in the hangers. Without them, we're completely defenceless." Allura said.

"Lion warriors! Our village is recently being attacked! Will you help us?" The Chief Arusian asked.

"We will.....as soon as we figure things out," Keith said.

"This is bad." Hunk admitted.

"We have to get a new crystal for the castle but I'll need a ship," Coran suggested.

"You can use the pod that I prepared earlier," Pidge said.

"I'll have to scan for any Balmera nearby. Hunk, I'll need your help to carry the crystal." Coran said.

"Bal...mera?" Hunk asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll explain on the way." Coran said.

Hunk, Coran and Pidge exited the bridge in a flash.

"In the meantime, I'll go and help the village," Keith informed.

"I'm coming with you. It's my fault that they're in this situation in the first place." Allura said.

"I'll guard the castle," Shiro said. Both Allura and Keith nodded and headed out.

_**Time Skip.** _

Allura and Keith managed to reach the bridge finding Sendak holding Pidge who was struggling as a hostage and Shiro on the ground nearby handcuffed.

"Stand back," Sendak warned.

"It's over Sendak. You're outnumbered." Allura said.

"On the contrary, I always have a backup plan," Sendak said as he grinned.

Then Keith and Allura heard footsteps coming to their direction but strangely they stopped.

The door opened, revealing something unexpected. A bunch of Galran robots in pieces and in front of them a person covered in a brown cloak with a mask stood there, holding a gun. _**(In this Au, Lance has the same exact clothes as Matt .)**_

"Surprise!" The person yelled.

He pulled the trigger and hit Sendak's arm directly.

With the blast, it came right off and released Pidge onto the ground.

Using Sendak's surprise as an opening, the person rushed in and punched Sendak in the face. This made Sendak lose balance but he manage to claw with his other arm the person's mask.

As Sendak fell to the ground, the person's mask was sent flying across the room revealing the person's identity.

The paladins were shocked by the mystery person's reveal.

He was a human teenager about Keith's and Hunk's age. He had brown hair, tanned skin and small ocean blue eyes.

"You?! You're supposed to be dead." Sendak said with shock.

"Correction, I lived." He responded.

Then he kicked him in the face which made Sendak's jaw emitting a sound of cracking.

"Now...we're...even." He said as he panted.

Everyone was surprised by his sudden appearance and how he defeated Sendak who was now unconscious, single-handedly.

Keith observed the teenager from head to toe until he noticed that he had an open wound next to hip.

Without any hesitation, he ran to the boy immediately catching him in his arms as the teenager was losing conscious due to blood loss of his wound.

"Guess I overdid it. Thanks....umm?" The person said.

"Keith." He responded.

"Keith. That's a nice name. Name's Lance." Lance said before everything went black.


	2. The Rebel Awakens

In the medical bay of the Castle of Lions, Keith, Allura, Coran, Pidge and Hunk were all waiting for the guy who saved their lives in the healing pod. "

I can't tell if he looks healthy or not." Hunk said as he squinted at Lance.

"I think he's breathing weird," Pidge said.

"Oh come on." Keith said as he was about to open the healing pod.

Allura stopped him and said, "Not yet! A few more ticks!"

Keith hates to admit it but he was growing impatient. He really wants to talk to Lance. There's something about him that interested Keith and he cannot wait for answers.

"Allura's correct. According to the data from the healing pod, there are still some old wounds that must be healed but besides that, he is in perfect health and shape." Coran informed.

"Old wounds?" Shiro asked.

"From the looks of it, they must be old battle wounds. I can tell that this chap went through a lot of fighting." Coran said.

"The fact that he's a human like us still makes me wonder how did he end up in all of this." Hunk said. "I mean he's a teenager just like us. I can't imagine what he's been through."

"We'll ask him when he wakes up but please approach him gently. I don't think he ever saw another human in a long time. We don't want to startle him. Also Allura and Coran, I need you to exit the medical bay just in case." Shiro explained.

All of them nodded in agreement while Shiro glanced at the sleeping teenager.

He couldn't stop thinking how this innocent teenager got caught up in the Galran war. The only fact that he knows now is that he takes it step by step when dealing with this kid. He did it once, he can do it again.

"He should be waking up in any tick now," Coran said as he and Allura exited the room.

"What's a tick?" Pidge asked.

All she received was looks of confusion until...

"It's basically a time slice approximately 1.399 seconds," A voice said.

Everybody turned to look at Lance who was limping and seeing everything blurry.

Hunk rushed to help him up by putting Lance's hand on his right shoulder to keep him standing.

"Thanks... umm," Lance said with his eyes squinting.

Finally, his vision went back to normal revealing Hunk right beside him which truly surprised him.

He looked like him...well not exactly like him but he had the same features. The ears, the eyes and everything else.

"You're a human! How did you get to this far side of the universe? Are you really from Earth?" Lance asked.

"We should be asking the same questions to you. I'm Hunk by the way." Hunk replied.

"We?" He asked.

Lance turned his hand and noticed that they were three other humans in the same room. He was astonished by this. He never saw another human ever since.... ever since...

"Holy quiznack, I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me." Lance said.

Shiro laughed and said," Nope. We're all real. Name's Takashi Shirogane but you can call me Shir....."

But was interrupted by Lance's loud stomach grumbling.

"Sorry." Lance mumbled.

"How long has it been since you've last eaten?" Shiro asked with concern.

"Honestly, three....days," Lance admitted.

Hunk gasped and said with determination, "Keith, hold this poor hungry man while Chef Hunk cooks him a meal."

Keith immediately obeyed while Hunk rushed out of the medical bay in a flash.

"Woah. Never seen him run that fast." Pidge said.

"What's the big deal anyway? It's just three days." Lance said since he hates to admit he lasted a longer time span without eating any food.

"Well, Hunk has a heart of pure gold so there's no way he's going to let a person starve even if he dies doing it. Also, name's Pidge." Pidge said.

"Been a while since I met a person like that," Lance mumbled.

"I'm sure we're going to have a lot to talk about but first you're going want to wash up, change and eat. Do we have any spare human clothes around here somewhere?" Shiro asked.

"I have a fresh spare of clothes in my B.W.Y.C.F.E," Lance said.

"B.W.Y.C.F.E?" Pidge asked.

"Basically it's a Bag Where You Can Fit Everything," Lance explained.

"Cool," Pidge said as her face lit up and made a mischievous grin.

"Which is why I'll go and find it," Shiro said giving Pidge a glare.

"Keith, can you help Lance get to a sleeping chamber to wash up and change?"

Keith nodded as Pidge pouted.

Few minutes Later,

Keith was waiting outside for Lance to come out so he could show him where the dining hall was.

After a few minutes, the door slid upon revealing Lance in new clothes. **(I'm not going into major detail but basically, he's wearing the same outfit as in Voltron Legendary defender** ).

"Hey, Keith." He said.

"Um.. ready to go?" Keith asked as he looked at him from head to toe.

"Yeah, but before we go, you can ask me one question," Lance said.

"What?" Keith asked surprised.

"Well, you did kind of save me back there and from the expressions on you recently, I can tell you have a lot of questions," Lance admitted.

This startled Keith. He literally read him like a book.

"Well, in that case..." Keith said but stopped.

He knew that he should think of his question clearly. He thought of what Shiro said.

_"Approach him gently."_

Keith took a deep breath and asked," When you kicked Sendak you literally broke his jaw and knocked him out unconscious. What's up with that?"

When Keith asked that question to Lance, it surprised him. Anyone who was in his shoes would probably ask him about deeper questions but this wasn't as he expected.

Keith kept staring at him watching for any change in emotion but ended up with no luck. This guy's face was unreadable. He couldn't stop thinking about how this guy read him like a book unlike him.

Lance removed his foot out his shoe revealing a shiny circular object covering the dorsal of his foot.

"These enhance the strength of my kicks. It's heavier than it looks but with the amount of training I've been through, I could barely feel them. They're both made of an alloy of tungsten and chromium." Lance explained.  

"That's amazing," Keith admitted as he stared at him with admiration.

Lance shrugged and said, "It's no big deal. So umm... where do we need to go?"

"Oh right! Follow me." Keith said as he realised he got distracted.

There was sudden silence in their walk to the dining hall due to Keith's rational thinking.

_**He's acting way too normal. Does he trust us completely? Or is it an act? Does he assume that we work for the Galra?** _

Out of the blue, Lance broke the ice. "Don't worry Keith. I don't think of you guys working for the Galra."

Keith looked at him in shock.

How the quiznack did he figure out what he was thinking.

"Dude, I've met others worse than you. Besides if you guys were working for the Galra, you would probably already sent me to them right away unconscious or dead." Lance explained.

"Are you psychic or something?" Keith asked without thinking.

"You had one question, remember," Lance said as he smirked.

Then they both arrived at the dining hall finding Shiro, Pidge and Hunk waiting for them.

Shiro was about to say something but was interrupted by Hunk who rushed in front of Lance, grabbed his arm and dragged him to sit on a chair saying,

"Less talk, more eating. I can't let you starve for another minute."

Lance blinked as he sat down.

He looked at Shiro who was mouthing

"Don't look at me. This is new for me too."

Then Hunk placed a plate filled with food on the table which gave off a pleasant and delicious smell.

Lance looked at the utensils placed next to the plate and mumbled,

"Huh, it's been a long time since I've used these."

Then he noticed that he said that out loud as he saw all the concerned faces.

"Oh sorry! Sometimes I tend to mumble to myself." Lance apologized.

"No one's judging yo..." Shiro said but was interrupted again.

"SHIRO PLEASE! LET THE MAN EAT. MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE." Hunk yelled as tears were seen in his eyes.

_**Yeah, these guys are definitely not working for the Galra.** _ Lance thought.

He picked up the fork and knife, cut a piece and ate.

"This is really good," Lance said as his eyes lit up.

He continued eating which ended up with him eating it all in one gulp.

When he finished his plate, he asked, "Hunk, you made this?"

"Yeah. Any comments?" Hunk asked.

"Honestly, this tastes 100 percent better than what I've eaten." Lance admitted.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Pidge asked.

Lance warned, "You don't wanna know."

Then he shivered which prevent the others from asking more questions on that subject.

Shiro decided to change the subject by asking, "So how are you feeling?"

"Better than I was honestly. I mean that healing pod really did the trick. Now I can fully move my right arm back and my left leg." Lance said as he rotated his right arm.

Shiro couldn't help but feel impressed and concerned for the fact that this teenager fought off Sendak and his army with injured limbs.

"That's Altean technology for ya," Pidge said as she grinned.

"Wait? Did you say Altean?" Lance asked.

A voice interrupted, "Why yes. Those healing pods were originally created by my..."

"Coran please the last thing we need is for our guest to have a brain fuse," Allura said.

Lance turned to find two other people with pointy ears and triangular marks under each eye.

"You guys are Alteans?!" He said in shock. "I thought they were a myth."

"Well, unfortunately, we are the last of our species that survived including these little ones," Allura said as she lowered her cupped hands revealing 5 mice.

All of them jumped onto the table and went to greet the newcomer.

Lance petted them each gently with his index finger.

"They're kind of cute." He said as he smiled.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Princess Allura of Altea and this is Coran my royal advisor." Allura said.

"Nice to meet you, young chap," Coran greeted.

"So if you're real, that means that Voltron is real. No wonder that quiznacking pulp Zarkon sent Sendak to this place." Lance said.

"I thought he sent Sendak since he was one of the closest to this planet," Pidge suggested.

"That's what Zarkon wants you to believe. Sendak is one of the trusted Commanders of his entire army. He's practically his right-hand man which is why he sent him because he thought that Sendak will retrieve the lions with nothing to lose." Lance explained.

"From the looks of it, I don't think this is your first encounter with Sendak," Keith said.

"Yeah. He and I faced each other many times that I've lost count. Last time I faced him, he left me a scar that gave me the disability of using my right arm fully." Lance said as he revealed his scar on his right shoulder.

"But thanks to you, I'm fully healed so I guess I kind of owe you guys mine."

"Actually, we're kind of even since you saved our butts from Sendak back there," Pidge said.

"Now that you mention it. Where is that numbskull?" Lance asked.

"He's frozen in a cyropod. We're keeping him in the castle since he's too dangerous to be set free. Besides we might get some information about Zarkon from him." Allura said.

"So if Voltron is real, how is it that you guys are still on this planet? Shouldn't you guys be out there defending the universe?" Lance asked.

" Well you see....

The whole Voltron team spent their time telling Lance about everything.

"....We still need to find the Blue Paladin in order to form Voltron," Allura explained.

"We need to find the Blue Paladin fast. We have to get back to the Balmera now and save Shay and her people." Hunk said.

"Wow. You really are hung up about this lady lately." Keith said.

"No, it's not like that. Look, guys, when you see how Zarkon has treated these people and destroyed their home they have been under his thumb for so long that they don't know what is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. This is what being a paladin of Voltron is all about." Hunk said in a very meaningful speech with eyes of determination.

"Which is why I'm coming with you," Lance said as he stood up.

Everybody looked at Lance who stood with the same eyes of determination as Hunk.

"Hunk's right. There are innocent people out there who need help. I cannot stand by and watch them suffer more at the hands of Zarkon. I'll free them even if it takes my own life. Besides this isn't my first time that I saved a planet filled with enslaved people." Lance said.

Hunk fangirled and pulled Lance into a crushing hug.

"Wow...you definitely are a hugger," Lance said as he tried to breathe.

"Sorry. I'm just so glad that you're coming with us. Anyway, it's time to man up." Hunk said.

This made Pidge bit her lip.

She took a breathe and said, "Wait, I have something to say first and I'm afraid that this will change the way you think about me. Just so there are no secrets between us anymore. I can't man up. I'm a girl."

"Wait, that was your secret. I thought it was obvious." Lance said.

"What? You're a girl? Well, that does explain certain things." Hunk said.

"I already knew," Keith admitted.

"Me too," Allura said.

"Wait, we were supposed to think you're a boy?" Coran asked.

"Pidge owning who you are is going to make you better paladin," Shiro said.

The team were about to exit the dining hall until..

"Oh wait! I almost forgot to ask. What's your name?" Allura asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I don't give my name often but in this case...the name's Lance, Lance Mclain." Lance said.

This brought shock to everyone in the room except for Allura and Coran.

"Holy quiznack! You're the boy that mysteriously disappeared seven years ago!" Pidge yelled.

"Pidge!" Shiro yelled.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Woah, seven years? Has it really been that long? Well, time works differently in space." Lance said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"So that means you're 17 the same age as me." Hunk said. "Cool, I've always wanted a friend the same age as me. No offence Keith."

"Hey!" Keith protested.

Everyone laughed including Lance.

Lance realised that it has been a long time since he laughed or had a sense of belonging. He admits it to himself that it has been a while.

"Let's launch this castle," Pidge said with excitement. And that's what happened.

The Castle of Lions took flight into stars heading towards their destination with a new ally and friend.


	3. Taking Flight

The Voltron team who were in their armour and Lance who was in his rebel armour were in the bridge watching Hunk pacing and rambling,

"Ok so, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and start blasting or do we land and have some kind of public address system like.. **Attention Garlans, this is Voltron. Turn yourselves in**...No...blasting, right?" Hunk asked.

"Hunk..calm down. And yes, blasting." Keith said.

"It's our first big rescue mission. He's excited." Shiro said.

"Excited to see his new girlfriend." Pidge teased.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's just a rock that I've met and I admire very much." Hunk protested.

"Sure," Pidge said sarcastically. "So Lance as being the most experienced in rescue missions, any advice?"

Lance blinked and turned to face them. All of them were looking at him waiting for his answer.

"When it comes to rescuing, an old friend once told me that every life counts," He said.

"That's some pretty good advice, Lance," Shiro said as he gave him an encouraging smile.

Then an alarm was heard which took the team by surprise.

"What is it? Are we being attacked?" Shiro asked.

"No. It seems to be a distress signal." Coran answered.

"It's coming from a nearby moon. Apparently, a ship has lost power," Allura said.

"I wonder who it is," Pidge said.

"Whoever it is will have to wait. Shay has first priority. We can check on them when we're done." Hunk objected.

"The Paladin code states that we must help all those in need," Allura said.

Hunk crossed his arms in defeat and was feeling irritated. He didn't want Shay to suffer more under the hands of the Galran. Hunk couldn't stop feeling helpless until a hand was placed on his shoulder.

Hunk turned, facing Lance.

"Hunk, don't worry. I know that you worried about Shay but it will only be a tick. I wanna save them as much as you do but we have to be patient." Lance said.

Hunk nodded and said, "Thanks, Lance. You're a good friend."

As the Castle of Ship landed on the planet, it emitted a message 

"Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We're coming to assist you."

"Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us." Allura ordered Coran.

"Yes, Princess," Coran said.

The rest of them got into a pod that landed on the planet.

Then they exited finding themselves greeted two aliens and a robot.

"You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces. Most folks don't wanna get tangled up to anyone who's on the run from the Galra." The purple alien said.

"So you guys are fighting the Galra?" Keith asked.

"Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us but we do what we can. I'm Rolo, this is Nyma and that's our cyberunit Beezer." Rolo said.

"Hi," Nyma said.

Pidge froze as she stared in awe at Beezers. She went to take a closer look.

"Cool robot," Pidge said.

"Was your ship was damaged in a fight?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah. We're really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by. Luckily we were able to land on this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn't..." Rolo explained.

"We're happy to help. I'm Princess Allura of Altea. You won't be alone in fighting against the Galra. You'll have the paladins of Voltron by your side." Allura interrupted.

Rolo, Nyma and Beezers all wore confused expressions.

"I don't think they've heard of us," Shiro said.

"Well, it has been thousands of years," Keith suggested.

"Enough chit-chat. Why don't we just work on your ship? I'm sure we all have places to be." Hunk snapped.

This resulted Hunk receiving a major hit on the head by Lance.

"Awwww! Why?" Hunk asked with his voice filled betrayal as he faced Lance.

"Oh quiznack. I didn't mean to hit you that hard Hunk. I guess I still haven't got used to how powerful my slaps have become. Sorry guys, I'm going back to the pod to check if Hunk has a concussion." Lance said.

Without hesitation, Lance grabbed Hunk's hand and dragged him away to the pod leaving the paladins with confused looks.

As they arrived,

"Ok, Lance! What was that for?" Hunk asked.

"To decrease suspicion. Hunk, I don't think these guys are fighting against the Galra." Lance said as he crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked.

"They said that they really went through with the Galra but I've noticed that there isn't a single dent or mark on that ship," Lance said.

Hunk managed to take a quick glance at the ship and admitted, " You're right but how can you be sure that they're working for the Galra?"

"I've seen many people on the run from Zarkon. These guys are way too calm and at ease. If they were on the run, they wouldn't have approached us that easily. They would have aimed their weapons at us and asked us who we were. This is different. It's like they've been expecting us." Lance explained.

"In that case, we'd better tell the others." Hunk said as he was about to run out but Lance stopped him.

Hunk looked at him and raised his eyebrow waiting for an explanation.

"Hunk, you're not getting it. If we expose them, they literally run off and tell the Galra our location and then the Galra will pinpoint where we're headed which will lead to...." 

"The Balmera." Hunk answered.

"Exactly. I have no doubt that there's some kind of reward on information about the whereabouts of Voltron by the Galra. So to play it safe, we should play along." Lance said. "Well except for you, Hunk."

"What? Why me?" Hunk asked.

"Well since you pulled that act, I suspect that Rolo will be trying to use you to get out of his way. This is why I need to you to act like you don't trust them and that you're onto him." Lance said.

"I don't know. It's too much pressure. I don't think I can handle it." Hunk said.

"You have to do this. For Shay, remember?" Lance said.

His eyes filled with determination as he said, "For Shay."

Lance grinned and said,

"Atta boy. Now, here's the plan...." 

Both boys returned back to the team over hearing Rolo saying

"Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot. I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it." 

"I'm sure we can get you back up and running. Give Hunk a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it." Allura suggested.

 "Okay." Hunk mumbled.

"We'll go with you. Don't want you to have to carry all that yourself. Come on, guys." Rolo said.

Rolo tries walking towards the Castle of Lions. This caught Hunk off guard and made him look at Lance for any help.

Lance gives him the 'act tough' symbol by flexing his arms.

Hunk nodded and stopped Rolo from taking another footstep by placing his hand on his chest.

"Uh, I don't think so. You can just wait out here." Hunk said.

He took a quick glance at Lance and saw giving him a thumbs up which made him feel more confident. 

 "Hunk, don't be rude," Allura said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defences down? Someone kind of set off a bomb." Hunk said.

 ** _Holy quiznack. This guy is better than I thought._ ** Lance thought.

"Hunk's right. Sorry, but we have to be cautious." Shiro said.

 "Hey, I don't take it personal. That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job, big man." Rolo complimented as he hands Hunk a list of parts from Beezer.

"Yeah, thanks." Hunk said.

Hunk couldn't stop thinking of how they were wasting time by playing through their game to save Shay but Lance was right. In order to play it safe, we need to be patient.

As he was about to enter pod that will lead him to the Castle, he took one glance back seeing Lance signalling him that he did a very good job with a thumbs-up.

Hunk couldn't help but smile as he entered the pod knowing things will work out somehow.

Rolo and Nyma are seated with Allura, Shiro, Keith and Lance whilst Pidge is distracted by Beezer.

"My planet was destroyed by the Galra and I was taken captive. I managed to escape, but not before I lost something." Rolo said.

Rolo shows them his prosthetic left leg.

"I know exactly how that feels," Shiro said as he showed them his robotic Galran arm.

"So... uh...Rolo. Mind telling me where you got this ship?" Lance asked.

"Oh, I found it lying it around and broken down," Rolo answered.

"Really? So how did you find the parts to repair the ship? From the looks, this ship's parts are probably really rare to find." Lance asked.

"We did what we can to get it going," Rolo said.

"Impressive," Lance commented.

Lance hates to admit it but Rolo hid his intentions pretty well unlike Nyma. Nyma hid her emotion well but her hands' motion revealed everything. He noticed how Nyma slightly clenched her fist when he asked his questions and how her hands relaxed after he commented.

"What about you? You seem different from these guys." Rolo asked as he gestured to Keith and Shiro.

As Lance was about to respond, Hunk returned dragging a hovercraft full of parts over.

"Well, I hope there are some parts in here that'll fit." Hunk said.

Everyone noticed how Rolo did not respond and was busy eyeing at Lance.

"...You know, to get your ship moving?" Hunk intervened.

Rolo blinked, turned to face Hunk and said,

"Great! Thanks."

Rolo wasn't the only one eyeing Lance and that was Keith. He noticed how Lance and Hunk were up to something as he took some quick glances at Lance from time to time. The one thing that Keith could tell that they had to be careful with these guys since they couldn't be trusted so he decided to play along.

"So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's fcentre Where are they concentrated?" Keith asked.

"Well, his Command Ship sits right in the centre of the Empire. He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closest. This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak." Rolo explained.

"Oh, we've met. So how far are we from the centre?" Keith asked.

 _ **He knows.**_ Lance thought.

"We're way out on the fringes," Rolo answered.

Hunk walks over and interrupted by explaining, choosing his words wisely,

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo from working. It's just that we're in a hurry. A hero named Shay saved my life, and I swore I would return to do the same for her and her people. You understand." 

"Sure. Sorry." Rolo said as he placed his hand on Hunk's shoulder making Hunk irritated and then walks over to the hovercart to inspect the parts.

Then someone else put his hand on his shoulder which relieved Hunk since it was Lance's.

"Hang in there, Hunk. Besides you're doing greater than I anticipated." Lance whispered so quietly that only Hunk could hear him.

"I really don't trust this guy as far as I can throw him. I wish we leave him with the box parts and just say, 'Adiós, amigo." Hunk admitted.

"Hey, bud! Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe about yay long?" Rolo asked as he gestured the length.

"On the way." Hunk said as he groans.

As Hunk leaves, Keith walks to Lance and whispered,

"Fill me in."

"Not what they seem. Hunk and I on the same page. Need to get close to their ship." Lance summarized.

Keith asked silently, "Why?"

"Rebel ship," Lance whispered.

Keith responded by nodding. Lance watched him leaving, approaching Rolo. He asked him,

"So, are there more freedom fighters? Any kind of organized resistance to the Galra?"

"Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow," Rolo answered.

"Well, we're going to change all that," Keith said.

"That's good to hear, but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. You don't know what you're up against." Rolo said.

Meanwhile, Pidge was playing with Beezers and Allura was chatting with Nyma.

"I don't understand. Are the lions ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on?" Nyma asked.

"The Lions were always a mystery even before my father built them. They're magical and at the same time scientifically advanced." Allura explained.

"Where are they now?" Nyma asked.

"They're in the hangers of the Castle," Allura responded.

"So you're saying these Lions form one large super robot called Voltron. How many Lions are there?" She asked again.

"Five to be exact, each with their corresponding paladin," Allura answered.

"So there's a Green one, a Yellow one, a Black one, a Red one but wait....that makes four. Where's the other paladin?" Nyma asked.

"I'm afraid we haven't found the Blue Lion's paladin yet but we will find one very soon," Allura said.

"So the lion chooses the paladin." Nyma stated.

Allura nodded.

"Well... maybe.. I don't know.. Nah, forget it." Nyma said.

"What?" Allura asked with curiousity.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe I see the Blue Lion so we could find out if I'm the Blue paladin. I mean you said it yourself that you need to find another paladin soon." Nyna suggested.

"That's a grand idea." Allura said.

"Oh quiznack. I forgot I'm not allowed to enter the Castle." Nyma said.

"Don't worry. I can get the Blue Lion which in its particle barrier, down here so it will be safe." Allura said.

"Are you sure about this? I mean isn't that Yellow guy your leader? You would be disobeying his orders." Nyma asked.

"Who, Hunk? You surely are mistaken. I'm the princess after all." Allura said.

"To keep things safe. Why don't you place the Blue Lion next to the kinetic spring on that moon?" Nyma suggested as she pointed.

"Sure. Then I'll come and get you using one the pods." Allura said.

"Great." Nyma said.

Allura ran off and without anyone noticing, entered the pod. This was possible due to the fact that Hunk was working on Rolo's ship, Rolo was answering Keith's and Shiro's questions and Lance was getting ready for Hunk's signal.

Hunk looked at Lance and made a "Everything Clear" signal.

Lance nodded and sneaked into the ship finding bunch of Galra tech covering the whole room.

A light blinded him which was coming from a screen. It was on, showing a list. A bounty list made by the Galra. 

Lance went to check and noticed that there was a bounty on any information and retrieval of the Lions.

**_Well, guess that part was true._ **

That's where he notices that he was just below having a large bounty on his head. Luckily there was no picture and it was terminated.

_**So the Galra thinks that I'm dead. That's a good thing.** _

Then he notices that there were bite marks on the ship just like where he found outside in the same exact spot from last time.

He was right all along.

This isn't any ship. 

This was the same ship.

Lance got up and sneakily exited.

As Allura returned, Rolo exited the engine of the ship.

"I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight. Beezer, come co-pilot for me. Be back in a tick." Rolo said.

Lance aimed his gun at them and said,

"I don't think so."

This made Rolo and Beezer stop in their tracks as Lance was in their way with angry eyes aiming his gun at them.

The Voltron team were dumbfounded at this situation and Lance's attitude.

" I warn you, don't get a step closer or I'll shoot you on the spot. I remind you, I never miss." Lance warned.

"You're smarter than you look. So I'm guessing from that gun you're the Lone Rebel.'" Rolo said.

"Who cares who I am? The only thing that matters is what happened to the previous pilots of this ship?" Lance asked with anger in his eyes and clutching the gun tighter.

"You'll find out eventually," Rolo said.

Then Beezer let out purple gas. 

"What is this?" Allura asked.

For the Voltron team, everything went black as they fell deep into sleep due to the gas.


	4. The Explosive Entrance of the Blue Paladin

Eyes opened as a drenching smell flew into his nostrils.

Hunk woke up with disgust and found Coran who was holding a small jar that was releasing the smell.

“Eww! What the quiznack is in there?” Hunk asked covering his nose from the revolting smell.

“Glad to see you're yourself. Also it's better if you don't ask.” Coran suggested.

Hunk almost threw up at Coran's statement but was distracted when the others also woke up smelling the same stench.

All wore faces of disgust until Coran closed the jar.

“Is everyone all right?” Shiro asked.

“Despite having my nose clogged with nightmares, I'm perfectly fine." Pidge commented.

“What happened?” Allura asked.

“Rolo happened. Beezer must have took us out with knock out gas making us lose conscious.” Keith said.

“Well the good news is that you're all healthy. The bad news is that the Blue Lion is missing.” Coran said.

“What?! How did they steal the Blue Lion?” Pidge asked.

Allura began to rub her neck as she gave her apology. “I'm sorry paladins. I'm afraid that was practically my fault. I was tricked and let my ambition blind me.”

“Hey, you're not the only one who's been blind. I can't believe I was betrayed by technology.” Pidge admitted.

‘It's ok, guys. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and do what we can to fix them.” Shiro said.

“We were right all along. We knew these guys were trouble.” Hunk said. 

"We?” Shiro asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Lance and I.” Hunk answered which lead him to explain what he and Lance discussed.

“I see. So that's why you, Lance and Keith were acting weird.” Shiro said.

“Wait, you knew?!” Hunk asked.

“Yeah. He filled me in.” Keith admitted.

“Where is Lance anyway?” Pidge asked.

Everyone turned their heads continuously, left to right searching for an unconscious teenager.

Unfortunately, Lance wasn't in plain sight.

Shiro, Keith and Hunk called out his name several times. All ended up being responded by silence.

“They must have took him.” Shiro suggested.

“Why would they kidnap Lance?” Hunk asked with a worried tone.

Everyone's head turned as Coran answered, “I believe I can answer that.”

All of the paladins and Allura were in the brig watching Coran searching and typing with series of screens appearing and closing.

As this was being done, Coran began explaining,

“I've been researching about the Galra's whereabouts and see how their technology advanced the last 10,000 years until I came across this...”

He pulled up a screen large enough for the team to observe.

“It’s a list.” Pidge stated.

“For what?” Keith asked.

“A bounty list. According to this, Zarkon created it to hunt down wanted enemies of the Galra Empire.” Coran answered.

He pulled out another screen which had the name,

**The Lone Rebel**

“This bounty was terminated until it was recently activated a few ticks ago.”

“Everybody to your Lions! We gotta catch up with them before lose Lance and the Blue Lion.” Shiro ordered.

As they were heading to the Lions, Hunk kept ranting through the comms.

“I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a feeling in my gut, you know? But when I was replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged."

"Okay, we get it." Keith said.

Unfortunately, Keith’s statement didn’t stop Hunk's ranting.

"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted."

"Okay! We get it."

"We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play."

This struck a nerve to everyone as the team shouted through the comms,

"Okay, we get it!"

The remaining Lions blasted off on their chase after Rolo, Nyma and Beezer.

* * *

Lance's body felt numb and weak, as he climbed out of the darkness and slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light above his head.

Everything felt so strange now and so very unfamiliar.

The last thing he remembered was aiming his gun at Rolo and Beezer.

_**Wait a minute...** _

Lance opened his eyes slightly and took quick glances at his surroundings.

He was on their ship and apparently a prisoner.

He felt the tightness of the shackles around his arms.

Lance looked at his body to check if they stolen anything.

Luckily,  the only thing they stole was his gun.

Then thoughts began running through his head.

_**Ok so apparently I got knocked out unconscious due to Beezer's knockout gas.** _

_**Since they didn't disarm me completely, I'm guessing they're expecting me to stay unconscious for a bit longer.** _

_**Good thing Medica injected the anti-serum for any knock out gas in to me while I was sleeping.** _

_**Medica and her insane paranoia.** _

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo. I understand you're offering a reward to anyone helping capture the Voltron Lions."

_**Better get outta here before the Galra find out I'm alive.** _

"That's correct. Do you know where they are?" Prorok asked.

"I know where the blue one is. It's in my ship." Rolo said.

_**Quiznack. So much for escaping without them noticing.** _

"Excellent. Bring it to me and you'll have your reward immediately." Prorok said.

"Just a tick. You see, my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past. Some stolen merchandise from the Galra Empire may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it." Rolo said.

"Well, I suppose you should return them back to Galran Empire." Prorok suggested.

"How about a bargain?" Rolo asked.

Prorok raised his eyebrow assuming that they have nothing else to offer.

"The Blue Lion is not the only thing that we got. You see Commander, we came across someone who was a thorn in the Galran Empire." Rolo explained.

Then he showed Commander Prorak through the transmission Lance's gun.

"That's impossible. According to the files, he was terminated." Prorak stated.

"Let me give you a closer look." Rolo said as he stepped aside.

Lance pretended to be unconscious and was cursing to himself in his mind.

On the bright side, his back was only shown.

_**So much for being dead.** _

"Well in that case, a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion and the Lone Rebel. Is that all?" Prorak asked.

"We'll take the reward for his capture along with the Blue lion's reward too." Nyma demanded.

"Of course." Prorak said.

"All right. We're on our way." Rolo said.

The transmission ends.

As Rolo grins and stretches, he says, "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks. Seemed like a nice bunch."

"If you're feeling guilty, you can turn yourself in. Stealing from Zarkon carries a life sentence." Nyma suggested.

"They don't seem... that nice." Rolo admitted.

_**This isn't good.** _

_**Knowing the Galrans too well, they won't trust these guys with their valuable prizes.** _

_**Great now we have a fighter squadron to deal with.** _

Thanks to his experience of being captured many times by the Galra, escaping was piece of cake for him but the only variable was he had to escape with a gigantic Blue Lion.

The only plan he had in mind was to escape and take over the ship by knocking out Beezer, Rolo and Nyma.

_**If only I had a distraction....** _

Coincidentally, alarms started blaring.

Rolo pulled a screen which showed four readings that were on their trail.

It was the Four Lions of Voltron.

"No way." Rolo said with astonishment.

He starts to fly his spacecraft to safety while Nyma questioned,

"Are you sure you know what you're doing? There's no way we can outrun those Lions."

Rolo smirked as he explained, "Not in the open. Good thing the Zorlar asteroid belt is right up here. I know that like the back of my hand."

The criminal aliens flew into the asteroid belt making the Four Lions stop.

"We'll never get through this asteroid field.” Pidge stated.

"Maybe I can just bust through!" Hunk suggested.

He piloted the Yellow Lion to slam into an asteroid but unfortunately, this caused all the asteroids to crash against each other.

As it resulted badly, Hunk admitted,

"Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea."

Shiro knew that there was only one pilot that can get through the asteroids so he said,

"Keith, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this. We need you, buddy. Get in there and flush him out."

"You got it. See you on the other side." Keith said as he piloted the Red Lion into the asteriod belt.

Keith pursues Rolo in the Red Lion, navigating the asteroid field easily by dodging, turning and bouncing from one asteroid to another.

Rolo's computer tracked the Red Lion's signature that was nearby.

"No way. Turn on the blasters. Take him down!" Rolo ordered.

"Copy." Nyma said.

Nyma and Beezer fired the ship's laser blasters at the Red Lion.

Keith dodged the attacks and fired his Lion's mouth cannon in retaliation.

"This kid can flat-out fly." Rolo complimented.

"He's gaining on you!" Nyma warned.

Rolo tried tricking the Red paladin by crashing into an asteroid but Keith avoided the trick and flung the Red Lion's jaw blade at the thieves' spacecraft.

The ship's weapons were disabled and destroyed, making them defenceless against a gigantic Red Lion.

"Blasters are offline!" Nyma reported loudly.

"We've got to get out of here!" Rolo yelled with panic.

Rolo tried to flee but was stopped by the Red Lion's mouth cannon at their engines.

The criminal's ship is knocked out of the asteroid belt.

Keith caught the spacecraft by Red's claws before it crashed onto the planet.

Rolo and Nyma sighed in defeat as they saw the other Lions coming.

“At least we could use the prisoner as a hostage.” Nyma suggested.

“Not gonna happen.”

Both jumped and turned finding Lance.

It did not end well, for the criminals, of course.

All of them ended up being tied up in the back as Lance was about to contact the paladins but alarms started blaring.

“Oh great.” Lance mumbled.

An entire fighter Galran squadron was approaching the Lions with blasters firing.

All Lions dodged except for Red who had excessive weight.

“I can't shake them.” Keith said.

Then a screen appeared on the team's screen.

“Yeah, I've noticed.”

It was Lance who was transmitting the message.

“Lance? How did you...?” Keith asked but was interrupted.

“Keith, I need you to let go of the ship so I can get the Blue Lion to safety while you go help the others.”

Keith obeyed Lance and let Red let go of the ship.

Thanks to the paladins keeping the Galran ships busy, Lance managed to pilot the ship out of there at a safe distance away from the battle.

He was going to go back to the Castle of Lions with the criminals and the Blue Lion but he hesitated.

He looked at the ship observing it once again with his own very alive eyes.

He looked back and saw that the paladins weren't doing so good even though the Lions were far more powerful than a Galran fighter ship.

The problem was that they were outnumbered.

Lance couldn't blame them since they had no experience in fighting against a thousand of Galran fighter ships.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had the Blue Lion and the criminals on board, he would immediately turned back since he never leaves a friend behind.

What could he do?

For once in a while, Lance didn't know what to do.

He was conflicted between his duties and his heart.

Suddenly the conflict within himself was completely erased as a purr echoed in his mind.

* * *

 

The four Lions were in a tough spot especially Hunk whose Lion isn't great at speed and agility.

He was taking heavy aim but thanks to the Lion's thick armor, he’s holding but not for long.

"Guys a little help here?!" Hunk yelled urgently.

"Hang in there Hunk! I'm coming." Keith informed as he began to move towards Hunk.

Unfortunately, Keith couldn't get to Hunk as he was swarmed by Galran ships, all firing.

All Keith could do at that moment was dodge and get out of the Galran's range whilst Hunk was still struggling.

The yellow paladin was internally panicking, saying,

"This is it...this is the end...oh quiznack..I'm gonna die..."

as he was trying to evade the blasts.

Hunk closed his eyes and began telling his farewells as he prepared himself when the Galran ships were about to fire.

After a few seconds, the blasts never came but instead explosions were heard that made Hunk jump and open his eyes.

Then a voice shouting through the comms was heard,

"HUNK, GET YOUR BUTT OUTTA THERE WHILE YOU'RE STILL BREATHING."

The voice didn't have to tell him twice as Hunk piloted the Yellow Lion out of range of the enemies' radars.

Then Hunk's eyes widened as he saw the Blue Lion, which was active and running, destroying Galran ships left and right.

In a instant, everything came together in Hunk's head as he asked,

"Lance, is that you?!

"The one and only!"

The yellow paladin couldn't help but smile at Lance's response and become relieved at the same time.

"There's still too many." Pidge stated.

"Everybody into the asteriod field. We can use the Galran's ship agility and speed against them." Lance advised.

"Great idea. Everybody, get through the asteroid field." Shiro ordered.

"Um..Shiro? I don't think my lion is capable of going through especially in this current state." Hunk added disheartened.

"I got ya buddy!" Lance assured.

Next thing you know, the Blue Lion that had the Yellow Lion back to the front, in its claws.

Then both lions went through the asteroid field manoeuvering through large floating rocks and fast damaging blasts.

"Lance, why am I back to front?" Hunk asked.

"I'm gonna need support so use your mouth laser to blast those quiznaking imbeciles." He responded.

"Aye aye." Hunk cried as he saluted.

The numbers of Galran ships tailing them began to decrease and decrease either because they crashed into an asteriod or one of Yellow's laser beams.

As this was happening, Lance and Hunk were yelling with joy and excitement until they reached to the end without a single Galran ship behind them.

The others caught up hearing the following loud conversation through the comms.

"Ok, I hate to admit but as scary as that was, it was really awesome! We totally killed it out there!" Hunk yelled.

"We sure crashed the party." Lance remarked.

This made the yellow paladin laughed and commented,

"Good one, Lance! We really make a good team."

"Right back at ya buddy." Lance responded.

As Lance said this, a familiar sensation took over him as he remembered.

_"Nice job, skinny! We really make a good team!"_

_"Right back at ya...._

The lone rebel felt down all of a sudden as memories flooded back into his mind.

The yellow paladin noted his friend's sudden silence and asked,

"Hey Lance, you okay there, buddy?"

Lance blinked at the question and realized how he got distracted. He then responded to his new friend,

"Yeah, sorry. Got my mind distracted for a bit. We should probably head back to the Castle of Lions where Allura, Coran and the prisoners are waiting for us."

"Let's go." Shiro said.

Then all the Lions blasted off.

* * *

 

Lance was in the Rebel ship, looking around.

Hunk, Shiro and Keith were all watching the rebel gazing at several places on the ship with saddened eyes.

Shiro and Keith backed out to give Lance some space whilst the yellow paladin remained there, observing his actions.

Hunk noted how Lance touched the bite marks on the Captain's deck and smiled as if he remembered something.

"Hey Lance. Could you tell me about the bite marks?" Hunk asked.

He noted that his friend was hurting which is why Hunk wanted Lance to talk because talking is one of the ways to heal.

Lance turned and nodded.

"These bite marks were made by my great Rebel friend, Chompers. That's what we call him since his name is so difficult to pronounce.

He was ruthless and scary, mainly because of his titanium steel teeth that could bite through anything. Adding to this, he had a full iron stomach since he ate only metal.

Eventhough he was scary, inside he had a gold heart since he was very caring and friendly.

As for the bite marks, the reason was that the captain who was an over worker always tend to skip dinner. Due to this, Chompers threatened that if he won't join, he would bite and eat the whole ship for his well being." Lance explained as he laughed.

"It was a hilarious sight since the captain loved the ship more than anyone else."

Hunk noted the happiness that brightened Lance's eyes. His idea worked and continued asking,

"Anything else special about this ship?"

"Yeah, it was the first ship where we carried out our first team mission. From then on, we had a lot of memories here." Lance answered.

The lone rebel lowered his head wondering where his team could be and worried for their well being.

Then he felt a hand on his right shoulder making him turn, facing Hunk.

"I can't imagine what it would be like if I was in your shoes but I'm pretty sure your team is out there fighting back since you're here, still alive and kicking.

I know your team is irreplaceable but I really hope that you can be part of our team, now that you're technically a paladin of Voltron so we can become best friends." Hunk stated.

Lance gave him a smile at Hunk's reasoning and admitted,

"Guess I have no choice. Are you sure you're prepared for my craziness?"

"I can take it after everything I've been through. Trust me." Hunk answered.

Lance laughed to which Hunk joined in.

Then they were both interrupted as Pidge informed them that the prisoners woke up.

* * *

 

The paladins along with the Alteans were outside the Castle of Lions looking down on the tied up prisoners.

"Thanks... for sparing our lives." Rolo thanked. "You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon. It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today."

The paladins and the alteans were about to leave them except for Lance who stood in front of them and asked,

"How did you come across this ship?"

"I wasn't lying when I found it broken down." Rolo answered truthfully.

"Impressive. That ship is no piece of cake when repairing it along with piloting it." Lance complimented.

"So...what's your point?" Nyma asked.

"Here's the deal. I'll give you the ship and the coordinates to an abandoned hideout with reserves of food which is not too far from here since I noted the injuries on you." Lance explained.

"In exchange?" Rolo asked.

"That you take great care of that ship and that you don't form any allegiance to the Galra considering what happened. The Galra aren't known as guys who keep the end of their deals. Trust me." Lance answered.

"Do we have a deal?"

Through his confusion, Rolo nodded.

The lone rebel inputted the coordinates onto Tweezers and undid the ropes.

"Why are you doing this after everything we did?" Rolo asked.

The rebel was about to leave until he stopped in his tracks as he heard this.

"Trust me, through my experience I've seen the struggles of refugees. Besides everybody deserves a second chance, don't they?" Lance stated and continued walking.

Rolo, Nyma and Tweezers all watched the Castle of Lions departing.

Rolo couldn't help but smile as he thought.

_**They're one interesting bunch.** _


End file.
